A Nova Scotia high school student is asserting she was reduced to “second-class citizenship” after her Halifax aikido school submitted to sharia law and accommodated a MUSLIM male student’s religious request not to touch his female classmates.

National Post(h/t Maria J) The man also refused to bow, apparently telling the dojo’s sensei that he only bowed to Allah. Bowing is a big part of the Japanese martial art, and aikido students are expected to regularly bow to classmates, the sensei and the front wall of the dojo, which is traditionally adorned with portraits of aikido’s pioneers. And when it came time for the customary end-of-class handshakes, “he would shake hands with all the other men in the dojo, but he wouldn’t even come over and look at the women … he just ignored us,” said Ms. Power.

“I felt degraded, discriminated against, I felt like a woman in the 1950s,” said Sonja Power, 17, a former student at Halifax’s East Coast Yoshinkan Aikido, a school operated out of the city’s Lakeside Community Centre. “We wouldn’t allow someone using their religion to discriminate against someone’s race, so why would they use it to discriminate against somebody’s gender?”

Ms. Power, a resident of the Halifax suburb of Upper Tantallon, NS, had been a student at East Coast Yoshinkan since the age of six. In the spring of 2012, Ms. Power, then 15, was just on the verge of earning her aikido black belt when she said a man enrolled at the school and told its owner that, for reasons of his Islamic faith, he was not allowed physical contact with women.

Apparently Muslim women are allowed physical contact with men in Aikido

The request would not have been noticed in a pottery class or a fencing course, but Aikido — like any martial art — is uniquely physical. The ultimate effect, said Ms. Power, was that sessions were suddenly being divvied up by sex. The school’s sensei “would put all the women on one side and then offer a side for the Muslim man so there wouldn’t be any problems,” she said.

Along with her mother, Ms. Power said she approached the sensei with her concerns about the new environment, but was told that it was the student’s religious right. “[The sensei] told us to get used to it,” said Michele Walsh, Ms. Power’ mother.

Aiming to complete her training, Ms. Power nevertheless stayed in the school for another five months, but said her breaking point came when the male student began distributing religious literature. In July of 2012, said Ms. Power, the student handed out copies of Islam; From darkness to light a booklet written by Toronto-based Islamic author Suhail Kapoor.

Several passages stuck out for the 15-year-old. “[When] a woman chooses to show her body in one form or another, the message is only one: she wants attention and possibly much more,” it reads. The booklet also authorizes husbands to administer a “light strike” to their wives in cases of “serious moral misconduct.”

“I couldn’t go to the same dojo with someone who thinks that way,” said Ms. Power. “I thought why would someone’s religion — something that they choose to follow — trump my gender, which is something that I was born with?”

Steve Nickerson, a fifth degree black belt and the owner and sensei of East Coast Yoshinkan Aikido, wrote in an email to the National Post that although he met the student’s request to avoid physical contact with women, “I believe every person should have an equal opportunity to participate in recreational activities and I would not deny this student access to my classes,” noting that he made the accommodation with the confidence that it would not be “disadvantaging any other person’s participation in my classes.”

You can reach Steve Nickerson here:

(902) 454-5647 or (902) 431-2148

The decision, he said, was supported by both the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission and the Halifax Recreation Administration, which operates Lakeside Community Centre. Lisa Teryl, a lawyer for the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, was unable to comment on the aikido case specifically, but acknowledged the stickiness of weighing the “competing rights” of gender equity versus religious beliefs.

“In the fabric of Canadian society, [gender segregation] isn’t something that, in a secular sense, we support … we generally see it as a bad thing,” she said. At the same time, she said, the law requires reasonable accommodation of religious views, which are generally given much higher consideration than mere matters of personal preference.

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Whats wrong with this picture ……Canadian soldiers going off to fucking muslim land to die and fucking muslims coming to Canada to live , someone please tell our rag head minister to wake up and keep those boys home

same things going on in america, ever since barry brought the troops home prematurely against thier word ,and the two decorated generals who lost thier jobs over it , and now we getting terrorist attacks in the states too , but barrys not losing his job nooooo. if canada and america fall the world will be hell.

If he only bowed to Allah? then why the hell did he sign up for it? he should be in some terrorist training camp in Syria… and also the other students should’ve quit right then and there. These muzzscum are really driving my blood pressure up. excuse me while I go drink a goblet of pawpaw leaf tea

Ok people. Both links I posted were good and sent such a torrent of comments that they made the Facebook profile private i.e. “Closed” Great work!

Second site link for Dojo works but has no option to contact so i will post the 2 Steve Nickerson phone number in Halifax. Hopefully someone here will phone them all and tell us which Steve is the right target. Lets make people who take our rights away uncomfortable. I would love to find the contact details of the Muslim guy!!

An important aspect of the study of any martial art is learning to control one’s own behaviour – selfcontrol. A prime example of this control is the etiquette we observe with our instructors and fellow students. To be impolite or unkind is to be lacking in consideration of others; to be inconsiderate is to be lacking in some essential kindness of the human spirit. Correct etiquette in Aikido is simply acting politely with due respect and consideration for the well being of others.

Didn’t read the last bit of your link did you, mohammadan? This capitulation to mohammadan supremacist misogyny is not universal across Canada. Another sensei stated that he refused to allow segregation in his dojo, even on religious grounds, because it violates Canada’s “protections of freedoms and rights.”

As has been stated this is a case of religious law trumping secular law and that is an issue.

Religious law must be kept private. Period. When it is exhibited and enforced in public than it is an issue.

Email Steve Nickerson the Dojo owner and tell him how you feel about both his sexist behaviour and cowardice in appeasing Muslim extremism. If we stand by silently and let this behaviour stand we deserve to see our way of life crumble.

should have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Human Right Commission and the halifax recreation association. her rights were violated especially when the student was allowed to pass out pamphlets

So – Why are Politicians NOT HELPING to PERMANTLY FIX the Islam PROBLEM and PROTECT themselves and their constituents?

Oh that’s right ….Our Elected Servants (think THEY are OUR MASTERS) ….
(Elected – hah! does anyone STILL believe Politicians are REALLY elected by their
constituents)
…. and are ALTERING our countries Laws to ASSIST ISLAM become their AND our NEW MASTERS – just STOP it.

Why would non-muslim Politicians and other Assisters set themselves and us up to be murdered and pillaged by Islam? – just weird?

Keeping in mind – Islam demands all non-muslim be enslaved/murdered and their property pillaged ….
all muslim have this fundamental belief (it is in their Qur’an – and being pathological liars (also a Qur’an edict) helps their denial.

Being murdered and property pillaged – THIS ALSO WILL HAPPEN TO ISLAM ASSISTERS – BE AWARE ASSISTER POLITICIANS – THIS IS WHAT ISLAM HAS PLANNED FOR YOU ALSO – “Stupid Politician Fools!” (a muslim quoted)

Be Aware – There is NO such thing as a moderate muslim – they all fund Jihad by paying their Islam Tax at the Mosque – and paid by the muslim most likely from wellfare benefits – how stupid is that? – Our Politician are funding Jihad.

Just a quick comment on this muslim ….
who would not even look or touch (shake hands with) the Nova Scotia high school female student
….YET .AMAZINGLY – this VILE muslim would be quiet prepared to rape the same girl – JUST ASTOUNDING!.

It is time for at least one country in the free world to sue Islam as a insurgent, illegal, political movement (we banned Communist parties here) and once it is established that Islam and its Koran is a fascist political movement along with a supposed religion, then they will no longer be able to scream about religious rights. Every man, woman and child in the free world must understand that Islam is at war against us and we must fight back daily in every way possible.

The Canadians have some funny laws . I remember one from twenty/twenty five years ago .

Having an ‘opinion’ in Canada can get you two years in der Joint , like da Slammer . Law 107 para [a] , if you tell a Mooooooolim he is a bag of camel shit , you get two years of a bed , three ‘meals’ and anal rape.

Sorry Canucks , I very much prefer Yankees any day . A lot of their girls are pretty though .

Maybe he just hated the idea of being ‘beaten’ by a woman. I made the same mistake once in judo class. She had me down in less than 30 seconds flat. My ego was bruised that day but unlike this pussy, I didnt take it personally. Today, that woman and I are good friends.

Whenever Canada takes a baby step forward (upholding the stripping of funding by Jason Kenney), it vaults three step backwards. First York and now this. Now we can see the clear hierarchy in the Human Rights Commissions about the favourite “pets”. Muslims trump women, and everyone else. I hope anyone in the middle or left of centre who admires having HRC’s really gets the clear message that so long as one is going up against a Muslim, they will lose. Seeing the HRC’s trying to spin these decisions, with all their politically correct jargon is sickening.

How the sensei could have allowed this, AND allow religious proselytizing, in what I assume is a religious neutral zone, is infuriating. I’m glad the young woman was brave enough to go the media and tarnish both the sensei and Islam’s image a little bit more. She’s obviously a youth who isn’t so brainwashed to fall into lockstep with the dogma they preach in the public schools, and she’s a black-belt too, so she can defend herself if a Muslim tries to enact some reprisal policies on her for her outspokenness.

What’s even more hopeful about Sonja Power? Not once did I see her, or her parents, try and make appeasing statements about Islam like “we respect all cultures and religions but…” Maybe she’ll end up on a site like this, one day! 😀

Hi, my name is Dan Power and I am Sonja’s father and Michele’s husband. We do visit barenakedislam and Thankyou (and others like you) for providing news and information not available elsewhere. I also thank you for your support to our cause. We have created a petition as one tool in our continued efforts to defend women from this form of discrimination and I hope you will sign and share it.

I have direct experience with the NS Human Rights Commission and I’m not surprised that they chose not to help you. They have their own set of religious, gender and racial biases that they have to deal with, and now they are paralyzed by them. Counter intuitively, the NS Human Rights Commission is the last place to go to for help.

Yep not me or mine…. what about the Japanese rules? Aren’t they entitled to their rules also….? makes no sense to me why anyone or any business would cater to a NON-percentage of participants….. like this case. One person or two or a 100 shouldn’t make a change in the rules…. let them start their own club or business….. quit giving in… that’s the problem. aahh makes me silly…..

I think signs should be everywhere…This is our country, This is our culture, If you don’t like it LEAVE. We are no longer accommodating your requests.

I sincerely believe that the imams at the mosques are telling these people what to watch for. They are probably required to rattle everyone’s cage to push their cult and their sharia law on the world.

When we lived in Iran, a mullah along the Persian Gulf ordered his congregants to leave the mosque and destroy all things Western. These savages left the mosque, went to a movie theater, blocked all the exits and burned the theater down. Many lives were lost. This is how the mullahs/imams get their way. This was the beginning of the Iranian revolution since the clerics hated the Shah so much with his Western programs and educating the people. You CANNOT control a well-educated, well-read populace and the Shah was erecting microwave towers so he could beam lessons into the most remote villages.

MZ, actually, just such a headline has been one of my most popular posts here:

Yes, we hate Islam. Yes, we will mock your paedophile prophet Mohammed as much as we want. No, we don’t care what you think or how offended you are. We are Americans, and we are free to say what we want, when we want, no matter how much it offends your sensitivities. Don’t like it? Get out. You are not welcome here.

Yet more appeasement from gutless, unthinking, ‘politically correct’ nutters! Have to say it—in Canada, Quebec leads the way; the only province with sensible people with any sense of self-preservation, because to keep giving in to the muslim rabble can only have one conclusion—which seems to escape so many people in other provinces.

…..this is yet another pathetic example of dhimmitude and political correctness run amok. A martial arts training facility is not and never should be an acceptable venue for religious propaganda. Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms “theoretically” guarantees Canadians protection from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, etc. The problem lies in that the average person really doesn’t have the financial wherewithal to launch a legal charter challenge…….that requires big bucks.

My question here is why the other patrons don’t stand up for this woman’s rights. This is a Christian, Caucasian woman being discriminated against in favor of some sand monkey……………… do the other patrons have NO BALLS AT ALL?????

“At the same time, she said, the law requires reasonable accommodation of religious views, which are generally given much higher consideration than mere matters of personal preference.”

I would not call this a “reasonable accommodation.” This is a supremacist demanding segregation.

This isn’t rocket science. If the religion requires segregation based on anything (gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs) than it is itself a segregationist ideology and common sense dictates that a segregationist ideology should not be accommodated.

And still the mohammadan supremacists and leftards of the world maintain that islamophobia is caused by “misunderstandings, the media, and the tiny minority of extremists.”

I’m sure a Christian’s beliefs wouldn’t be accommodated with such generosity, especially since it involved literature distribution. By not complying with the simplest request of the instructor it should be an easy thing to dismiss him from the class, there is no reason for the instructor to disrespect this woman in such a barbaric manner. The instructor is probably scared that he will be sued by CAIR or some other “human rights” group.

This insensitive sensei, Nickerson, must need the income from an extra student badly in order for him to change the rules of his art to accomodate a filthy muslim and allow him to hand out literature supporting his sharia based nonsense. The pushy, in-your-face demanding muslims will ALWAYS want special accomodation because of their 7th century, barbaric, so called religion sthat not discriminates against women, but allows beheading, stoning,forced child marriage, incestual marriage, Homosexual hanging, and forced female mutilation. .
You are stupid to the “enth” degree, Mr. Nicholson, and have compromised a century or more of Aikido related customs for the sake of a little more income from a cultural throwback.
And so you insult a long time student . You are pathetic and don’t have the balls of a field mouse.

Absolutely! It defeats the purpose of martial arts to back down so quickly in the face of a whiny poser. That is the only reason muslims are involved in any activities – to demand their way. If the muslim was really interested in learning martial arts, the first thing he would learn is to RESPECT THE SENSEI. PS – why didn’t Nickerson tell him when he was enrolling what was expected?

Excellent numbers, Bonni! I myself don’t post any counter-jihad things on Facebook (too risky, especially with the Muslim “friends” I have on there), but I’m glad on even that restrictive medium the message is getting through.